Aft A'Gley
by Nancy Brown
Summary: Another attempt to fix Ransom.


Aft A'Gley  
by Nancy Brown (nancy@tooloud.northco.net)  
copyright 1996, 2001  
PG  
  
This takes place about three hours after the end of "Ransom." Read no  
further if you have yet to see that episode. (Insert Std. Disclaimer about  
Disney owning the universe here.)  
  
  
  
David rested his hands on the edge of the crib, scarcely daring to  
breathe. Alex had been very busy these last few days, and hadn't wanted to  
go to sleep. Only just now had he closed those sweet blue eyes of his to  
rest; David was certain that if he moved an inch, the calm would be broken  
again, and he'd spend another hour walking the floor. Not that he minded,  
he thought. There was something amazingly wonderful in holding his son,  
*his son*, gently against his shoulder, and moving slowly back and forth as  
he hummed a lullabye. It was a kind of magic that could neither be held in a  
talisman nor summoned on a whim from his inlaws. Alex waved one tiny fist  
in his sleep, and David's heart nearly broke from joy.  
  
It was good to have him home again. To think what could have  
happened if things had not gone as smoothly as they had ...  
  
Doyle was out of the way for good. He'd been a loose cannon from  
the beginning, which had been his purpose. However, it was now safe to  
say he'd outlived his usefulness. What the Quarrymen were doing for the  
fringe element, he'd done for the population at large: turned otherwise typical  
people into cold killers, bent on destroying those who were different. Doyle  
had manipulated them out of fear and unseeing anger, much like a low-  
budget Hitler. When he'd endangered Alex, his supporters had been thrown  
into confusion, and when *Lexington* had saved him, the confusion had  
become near-chaos. Exactly according to plan.  
  
Fortunately, Lex had recognized Doyle's helicopter, or things would  
have been far more difficult to work. That had been a campaign contribution  
well worth the making, he decided. Besides, if anyone tried to trace it, or any  
of the rest of Doyle's funding, they would find the name under which the  
donations had been made: an up and coming corporation with no ties  
whatsoever to Xanatos Enterprises, named Rome or Athens or something.  
He'd have to ask Owen.  
  
A smile touched his lips. Staging the explosion had been a touch of  
genius, and Owen had played his part admirably. If anyone inquired on his  
health, he'd had a concussion. Even the hospital staff were convinced. And  
when no one else was there, he could go back to being the world's best  
walking talking baby-monitor without any interruptions from the outside world.  
When they'd gone to visit him earlier, he confided that it was the best  
working vacation he'd had in some time.  
  
Fox's performance hadn't been quite as good. David had quietly  
noted several times when she'd thrown herself too much into her part. Yet,  
even that had its place: now the clan would remember that Fox had instantly  
turned on them for the sake of her child, but they would also recall that he  
had refused to abandon them, even for Alex. He would have still more of  
their undying gratitude. If he later needed them to trust Fox, well, a great  
deal could be blamed on hormones, although she would shoot him for saying  
so.  
  
He counted his gains for the day. The gargoyles trusted him. Doyle,  
whom he'd never intended to allow to become Mayor anyway, had  
unknowingly served his purpose and had been safely discarded, with no way  
of discovering who had ordered the "kidnapping" in the first place. The anti-  
gargoyle movement was growing smoothly, which would make the clan even  
more reliant upon him. Meanwhile, the pro-gargoyle movement had finally  
been given a good start, with the vast majority of New York uncertain which  
group to believe. The population was highly confused, and a little scared,  
and he'd discovered that confused, frightened people were amazingly easy  
to lead.  
  
Perhaps best of all, Alex, who had never actually been in danger,  
was already a celebrity. It meant little right now, but David was no longer  
concerned with "right now." The quest for immortality had never stopped,  
but he'd chosen to take it to the next generation. Owen had already said  
there was a good chance the baby would have enough fay blood to be  
virtually immortal. By the time he was an adult, David intended to have an  
empire waiting for him. It would just require patience.  
  
He leaned down and placed a kiss on Alex's forehead. For him, it  
would be worth the time and expense. Still, he had to admit, it felt good to  
finally have something go exactly according to plan.  
  
The End  
  



End file.
